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Headlight restore: what ppl think of this article?

THE TRUTH ABOUT HEADLIGHT CLEANERS
All Headlight cleaners are Not created equally
Sandpaper wet or dry is the kiss of death for acrylic / plastic headlights.

You cannot restore something by grinding it away, what works for one problem does not work for all.

This patching is not oxidation. It is an UV layer worn away by an abrasive headlight cleaner

Remember: "Just say no to Sanding, polishing and buffing your newer projector headlights!".
A lot of instructions mean a lot of work.
ITS ONLY OXIDATION!
It's the 21st century. Why waste time & money using out dated Caveman science?

Unless some shade tree mechanic or professional caveman has previously used abrasives or sandpaper cleaners on your headlight lens, it can be restored to like new in seconds with an acrylic lens deoxidizer and it's easier than polishing glass!

Abrasives solid or in cream form will damage the factory UV coating applied to the lens surface.

The creams are little more than diluted rubbing compounds designed for painted surfaces. Many are just rehashed auto body techniques designed for metal and paint. Some sellers sell toothpaste as a headlight cleaner.

Does toothpaste work?

On GLASS HEADLIGHTS YES, works as good as any GLASS polish

Toothpaste is excellent for cleaning glass headlight lens, The molecular structure of glass is very hard, dense and brittle. Glass can crack and shatter

ON ACRYLIC HEADLIGHTS NO, causes damage to protective UV layer

Toothpaste will cloud the surface of the UV layer with fine scratches that will dull your headlight lens.
The molecular structure of Acrylic/Polycarbonate/Plastic is Not as hard as glass, the density varies greatly. It can be very hard to very soft. Acrylic/polycarbonate/plastic can crack, bend and break but it does not shatter.

Using sandpaper will cost you hours of time and destroy the surface of your headlights along with your headlight's factory applied UV coat. Don't chance on ruining your modern high tech projector headlight lens with obsolete low tech caveman technology.

Acrylic, Plastic, Polycarbonate all have one thing in common, they are
Thermoplastics. They have a petroleum base. Unlike abrasive creams and sandpaper kits that damage the UV layer and the surface of the lens. One Step does not use abrasives of any type.

THERE IS NO SOLID CLEANER, THAT IS NON ABRASIVE

If it comes in a can, tube, cream, paste, or powder it is not non abrasive. Non abrasives are pure liquid.

IF IT INVOLVES EXCESSIVE RUBBING OR BUFFING IT IS NOT A TRUE ACRYLIC DEOXIDIZER

Deoxidizers work on contact, products that require excessive rubbing or buffing contain abrasives.

Pittman's Original ALR is the only product on the market that addresses the problem of automotive headlight lens oxidation based on the molecular structure of Acrylic Oxidation.

Todays Automotive lens are made of high impact Thermoplastic based Acrylic / Polycarbonate, commonly referred to as plastic. This allows for a variety of shapes and sizes, making the headlight configuration of today, one of the most diverse in design history.

They are all but perfect in their construction. The plastic / acrylic / polycarbonate material of which the headlight are comprised are versatile and beautiful but it has a limited life expectancy. Unlike Glass which would last virtually forever, climate and invironmental contamination creates negative changes in the appearance of exposed Acrylics.

The old fashion method is to buff or sand the lens until the oxidation is removed. This caveman's approach caused severe damage to the lens surface that consists of fine scratches in the finished product that begin to reveal themselves to you the first time you wash your car.

Another method which is a new concept is to clean with a wipe on product, dry and seal the lens with a polyurethane finish.

Kits have to use sealers because it is necessary to fill in the scratches caused by the abrasive compounds and sandpaper used in cleaning the lens. The damage to the lens surface is masked by wipe on or spray on sealers, Most offer no UV protection.

It looks good if done properly, when itís fresh, however within months the exposure of the polyurethane to the sun and or cold along with the heat from the bulb, will turn it yellow and cause it to crack and peel. Once this happens only paint stripper or sanding can remove the sealer. Your lens is ruined.

A DE-OXIDIZER WILL ONLY REMOVE SURFACE OXIDATION LEAVING THE UV LAYER INTACT. NO SEALER IS NEEDED BECAUSE NO DAMAGE IS DONE

None will tell you that their product results will not last forever, they play on your ignorance of the problem.

DON'T FALL FOR THE LIFE TIME GUARANTEE, IF ANYONE HAD A SEALER THAT WOULD NOT YELLOW OR OXIDIZE THE AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES WOULD BE USING IT. AND THERE WOULD BE NO MARKET FOR HEADLIGHT CLEANERS

The fact is that oxidation will eventually return and will have to be removed again. That is a job that never ends. Nor will they tell you that the abrasives in their products cause unrepairable damage to your UV layer and the surface of your lens. None bother to mention that their product is not recommended for use on thermoplastic based refractive lens or projector headlamp covers.

Some sellers wave useless patents around like a caveman with a club.

"Having a patent does not make a product work". It just keeps someone else from legally making the same mistake.

What condition are your headlights in? which can be restored and which have to be resurfaced?

1. Do you see flakes peeling off your lens?

2. Does your lens appear to have a thin layer of plastic wearing off the lens?

3. Is the lens deeply pitted?

4. Are there scratches visible on the surface of the lens?

5. Does the lens appear to have thousands of tiny micro fractures in it? (more common with early Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth headlights)

These are conditions that go beyond the effect of natural oxidation.

These lens are damaged and cannot be restored. They can be resurfaced with a complex sanding and polishing system that include the use of power tools and sealers. The results may last 3 to 6 months before it begins to break down again but none of the cheap free shipping kits found on ebay or hand sanding kits have what it takes to repair the damage described above.

On the other hand

1. If your lens surface is cloudy

2. If the surface of your lens are opaque

3. If the surface of your lens are white

4. If the surface of your lens are yellow

5. If the surface of your lens are brown

6. If oxidation is so thick on your lens that no light can come through

You can restore them to like new in seconds with a non abrasive deoxidizer.:

The concept behind the deoxidizer utilizes the same natural elements involved in creating plastic /acrylic / polycarbonate to create a formula that works like a magnet and absorbs oxidation from acrylic leaving the clear unaffected surface exposed.

Effortless application, results on contact, A one step deoxidizer reacts at the molecular level.

One 14.7cc vial averaging 100 drops can restore 50 to 100 headlights making it the most economical of any headlight cleaner on the market today.
One drop on a paper towel restores your lens to a like new condition without the removal and replacement of the lens. The ability to deoxidize acrylic surfaces where conventional methods aren't applicable is another feature of the deoxidizer

Hmm, quite informative. Strange I didn't come across this one before Sean.

I was under the impression that the "headlight restoration" kits commonly available were intended for when the clear coat UV layer was too damaged to be saved. I have buffed my 'ludes headlights back to clear from practically opaque using an the Turtle Wax headlight restorer + some wet and dry sandpaper. The discolouration on my headlights was most definitely due to the factory clear coat breaking down from the UV, it was almost gone in many places. The only solution was to remove the damaged clear coat with a lot of sanding and buffing and it was quite obvious during this process that it was the clear coat I was removing not the acrylic of the headlight cover itself. It has now been over 12 months since I have done this and they are still crystal clear with no further clouding/discolouration but I'm sure I'll have to do them again one day. It is possible to do yourself and is much cheaper than having them professionally resurfaced or buying new headlights.

On the other hand the headlights on the 323 are quite cloudy but it looks like the clear coat has not started to flake, so they might still be at the stage where they can be saved with a de-oxidiser.

Damn, good work Gregsir. They look great. How long did a set of these used to take you? When I did the 'lude I had the luxury of taking the headlights out of the car, polished them up one night in front of the TV.

BTW, had a quick look and the cheapest I could find the Pittman brand de-oxidiser from the eBay article is around $100 delivered from the US, still seems a lot cheaper to just buff them back with wet & dry and polish.

Results were always great especially on the imports with bigger lenses,i used to take about an hour to do a full set.
Sometimes upon the polishing you'd know that a second round of sanding was needed but most of the time one good round would do it.
A bit of masking up and warm soapy water was all the prep needed.

I wouldn't bother with the kits,i just used some Plastx and mirror glaze polish on the Crv a little while back,it wasn't bad enough for the full procedure,came up sweet.
I had a few customers say they actually considered replacing the headlights as they were unaware they could be restored now that would have been expensive and a waste of money!